


It's the final sound you hear

by SilverUtahraptor



Category: Naruto
Genre: (and sorry to all Team Tobirama fans too), (sorry to all Tobirama fans I guess), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Izuna Appreciation Week, Izuna Week, Izuna is having the same grief-induced breakdown as canon Madara but with distinct Izuna flavouring, Izuna/Revenge, Revenge is not Justice but tell that to Izuna, Uchiha Izuna Lives, Uchiha Madara dies instead of Izuna, Watch Izuna become increasingly more unhinged in 2k
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:54:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26516287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverUtahraptor/pseuds/SilverUtahraptor
Summary: It’s Madara who dies by Senju hands, not Izuna. The village still grows, and it still goes to war. The Niidaime Hokage still dies....Does it matter how?My entry for the Izuna Appreciation Week 2020, Day 5 prompt "Betrayal" & Day 6 prompt “Justice”.
Relationships: Senju Tobirama & Uchiha Izuna
Comments: 32
Kudos: 59
Collections: Izuna Appreciation Week





	It's the final sound you hear

“Hokage-sama.” The Panther-masked ANBU Commander – Izuna – nodded to him as he and his team threw themselves at the remaining enemies. One ANBU, their combat medic, split off to crouch down beside Koharu and Torifu, hands already glowing green.

Tobirama had never been quite so glad to see the Uchiha and fight alongside him.

Chakra fresh and only slightly exhausted from their hurry, it was almost laughingly easy for the ANBU to finally kill the Gold and Silver Brothers.

Sword still dripping red from running Kinkaku through, Panther whirled around to look at one of the ANBU, Lynx. “Movements?”

The shinobi – the team’s sensor – paused a moment, chakra reaching out to check their surroundings. Tobirama was so exhausted he could barely feel it. “No one for the next 15 miles.”

Izuna inclined his head towards Tobirama. “Hokage-sama?”

He shook his head, smiling a bit ruefully. “I can’t currently tell, but if Lynx keeps watching for enemy movement, we can afford a short break before returning.”

“Hai, Hokage-sama.” With that, Izuna flashed towards Hiruzen, who was still struggling to stand, and rested a hand on his shoulder. “Sarutobi-kun, take it easy.”

Huh. When had Izuna taken off his mask?

Tobirama frowned. Most of the Leaf shinobi knew that Izuna was their ANBU Commander, but that was still against protocol–

Izuna was smiling.

–and Izuna tended to always, _always_ stick to the rules, not wanting to give anyone an excuse to doubt his devotion to the village.

Izuna met his eyes, still _smiling_ , and in one fluid movement, drew his sword across Hiruzen’s throat.

Tobirama jumped forward, hand coming up with kunai, realizing he was too late already – what about the others–

“No!“

Behind him, the ANBU that had been _healing_ Koharu and Torifu brought down her sword twice in quick succession.

“–Stop–“

On his left, Lynx stepped up to Homura, who was looking around wide-eyed and hesitant, and broke his neck with a snap that echoed around the clearing.

And Kagami, _Kagami_ , grabbed for Danzo, seemingly to jerk him back out of the way, and then–

Buried his sword to its hilt in his friend’s chest. “I’m sorry,” he choked, “I’m sorry, I’m sorryi’msorry-“

And Izuna laughed. And laughed. And _laughed_.

All around him, the ANBU reached up to take off their masks, and Tobirama found himself surrounded by ring of glowing red eyes.

* * *

_(Izuna had been so, so careful over the years. He had wanted to lash out, to rage against the Senju, but he knew that that road could only lead to sure death. So he had swallowed his rage and his grief and the fire in his soul and exchanged it for the expected sullenness and grudging acceptance, signing the treaty and building a village. And whereas at first, he had wanted nothing more than to eventually destroy this Konoha built on his brother’s corpse, he had slowly come to the realization that this, perhaps, had been his brother’s dream after all. Izuna had only needed to remove the Senju from it._

_Hashirama had been the most challenging part. It had taken him years and years of very careful planning, just the right amount of seemingly inconsequential things not quite working out – never enough to suspect him – to finally maneuver the God of Shinobi into a situation where the only outcome had been the Senju’s death. If the Land of Stone was devasted in the process, well, that wasn’t Izuna’s problem._

_Tobirama had suspected him for a while afterwards, Izuna thought. But he had never given the White Demon any excuse to have doubts about his conduct, so that suspicion never went anywhere._

_Touka’s death had been far easier to arrange. A courier mission gone wrong. Sure, there had been an investigation, but it had been led by a team of his ANBU and the only thing they had concluded was that a contact had provided wrong intel. Where that intel had come from? No one alive ever found out._

_Tobirama… Tobirama was clever. A very cautious Hokage. So while Izuna hadn’t arranged for this entire war, by then he had had dozens of plans ready depending on the circumstances._

_And these circumstances, right here, had been too good to pass up. Too bad for the team – and he would have to watch Kagami carefully the next months – but it added to the narrative of a heroic last stand, didn’t it?)_

* * *

Tobirama stared at the growing pool of blood where Hiruzen had collapsed. His team was _dead_ , all of them, the ANBU ever efficient in dealing death blows.

“This isn’t personal,” Izuna said, still with that damned _smile_ on his face. “ _Your brother_? That was personal, but this,” he gestured around, “this is just finishing the job. This is _justice_.”

Tobirama had always thought that Izuna was not _quite_ sane, something about the look in his eyes. But it had never been so obvious until then, in that bright grin while surrounded by the cooling bodies of what should have been Konoha’s future and blatantly admitting that he had also arranged _the First Hokage’s death_. Tobirama supposed he should feel anger at that, but all he felt was a growing numbness at being so thoroughly, irrevocably outmaneuvered.

Kagami was hunched over Danzo, sobbing. One of other Uchiha walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder – and Tobirama hadn’t known there were ANBU teams composed entirely of Uchiha; he had been against that, in fact, which meant that Izuna must have been planning all of this for a very long time.

“That doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy it, of course.“ Izuna added, showing more of his teeth. He raised his sword, still dripping with Hiruzen’s blood. “How would you like to die?”

Izuna, Tobirama realized, had planned his betrayal _very carefully_. The ANBU team had only interceded when his team had already been wounded and exhausted, and he himself almost out of chakra. There were no Konoha sensors in range to determine anything was wrong, no one to tell the story of what happened here other than the Uchiha. Which meant...

Izuna would get away with it.

Tobirama gritted his teeth and raised his own sword. He had never been the type to run, even if that had been an option.

“I wanted to kill you earlier, you know,” Izuna said, dancing out of reach of his sudden strike before darting his own blade lightning quick towards Tobirama’s neck, barely missing the artery. “So Hashirama would have to suffer through losing his last brother, same as I did.” Izuna stumbled for a moment when he went to evade another strike, and Tobirama’s sword nicked his arm. Not deep enough. “But then I realized: Hashirama _didn’t care_ about you enough-“

Tobirama’s next attack cut a long slash across his opponent’s chest in exchange for Izuna’s sword stabbing between his own ribs.

They sprang apart for a moment.

Izuna was _still smiling_.

The Uchiha raised a hand to his side, coming away wet with blood. “Now, that should be sufficient.” His smile grew impossibly wider. “‘Under threat to my own life, I could at least bring back our beloved Nidaime’s body!’” His voice had taken on a saccharine tone. “Now, how does that sound, hm? I think it’s rather convincing.”

The Uchiha ANBU, who had until this moment lingered back, stepped up to him again. Their weapons had never left their hands, but he could now _feel_ their killing intent focusing on him.

Kagami stayed back, still crouching at Danzo’s side, face wet with tears and blood. He wasn’t looking in their direction.

_(Uchiha Kagami loved his sensei. He loved his team. But he had once loved Uchiha Madara too. And he loved and admired Izuna, who had been the only adult left in his life for a time. Izuna had always had a particular way with words and an inherent understanding of people’s emotions. It had been very easy to keep a young and lost Kagami firmly on his side when their grief had been shared.)_

“Uchiha Kanao was my best friend,” the ANBU on his left flank suddenly spoke up. “She died a month before the peace treaty!” Tobirama dodged the first kunai, but not the second to his shoulder.

_(Uchiha Kanao died when a wound taken in a clash with the Senju festered and refused to heal. The Uchiha’s healing abilities had never been as good as the Senju’s, after all.)_

“My father’s name was Uchiha Eiji. He died at Senju Butsuma’s hands,” the ANBU combat medic stated in a conversational tone. The senbon that slid into his lower back was almost a surprise.

_(Uchiha Eiji died because Uchiha Tajima and Senju Butsuma were both uncompromising men and, without a doubt, a product of their time. Tobirama had been three years old then.)_

“Uchiha Asami,” said the Uchiha kunoichi with the Lynx mask hanging from her belt. “My older sister. You killed her.” Her shuriken were very sharp and her aim true now that Tobirama could hardly breathe, much less move. His leg gave out.

_(Uchiha Asami died after a hours-long skirmish between several patrol teams had turned vicious when each side’s losses kept piling up without anyone gaining advantages. Tobirama had been a mere few moments faster than Izuna in getting there, at best, and Uchiha Asami had been standing between him and his clansmen.)_

And then, at last, Izuna stepped up to him again, eyes glittering. “Uchiha Madara. My brother, who _your_ brother left _for dead_.” He paused, mouth twisting into more of a bitter smile as if in remembrance. “He begged me for days to make peace with you. _For days_! He should’ve been allowed to grieve and say his goodbyes, but instead all I remember is _Niisan pleading for me to make peace with his murderers!_ ” The Uchiha was shouting now and- yes, he was crying, bright Sharingan eyes spinning. “And I did. I did! I built the village my brother wanted! And now… now it’s _almost_ perfect.”

The point of his blade came to rest on Tobirama’s throat.

Tobirama looked up, into Izuna’s eyes. He knew with sudden certainty that the other man would not deign to trap him in a genjutsu _now_ , so all he saw were the eyes of a man who had long abandoned grief and anger for madness and didn’t regret that step, smiling all along the way. But–

But.

Izuna _hadn’t_ led their village to ruin despite having ample opportunity to do so as their ANBU Commander. He _hadn’t_ sabotaged each and every mission, instead focusing on his Senju targets. And he _hadn’t_ used other precarious situations in this war that would have resulted in Tobirama’s death too, but with far greater casualties on their side.

No, Izuna’s grievances were _personal_. And that meant… that ultimately, the _village_ would survive. A man like Uchiha Izuna would not relinquish his vengeance by letting the other nations steal the slightest inch or power away from him now that he had won it. Tobirama regretted it deeply that his students had been caught up in his death along with himself – but this? This would _end_ with his death.

Senju Tobirama _smiled_ and didn’t blink when his long-time rival shoved the blade through his throat.

_(Uchiha Madara died because of a friend’s fleeting misstep in a fight that had ceased to be fights for the two of them a long time ago. Uchiha Madara died still believing in his friend and their shared dream. Uchiha Madara died believing his brother would do the right thing.)_

**Author's Note:**

> ~~I’m sorry.~~
> 
> Shoutout and many thanks to the amazing [FiresFromOurHearts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FiresFromOurHearts/pseuds/FiresFromOurHearts), who beta'd this for me and had some wonderful suggestions on how to make this even better. ❤️
> 
> Tobirama: *surprised pikachu face*  
> Izuna: *does a villain monologue, but in a smart if slightly unhinged way*
> 
> So technically, most of the grievances the Uchiha here bring against Tobirama don’t have anything directly to do with Tobirama. He is, however, a Senju, and a Senju with power, and a Senju who has never quite fully trusted the Uchiha, and also the only Senju left they want to get rid of, which makes him a very convenient target for *gestures at fic* all of that. 
> 
> So the way I see it going, Izuna makes himself the Sandaime Hokage after this. It’s generally well received by the population since he is about the strongest shinobi left in the village and makes for a good wartime leader. After successfully ending the First Shinobi War and a round of well-thought out reformations and changes to the village structure that not quite favor the Uchiha Clan but do put it into a far better position than in canon, he abdicates and names Kagami as his successor and Yondaime Hokage... I imagine from there on, even more canon divergences just keep piling up.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Thoughts and comments?


End file.
